*OFFICIAL* "All Powerful" M15x Owners Lounge - Part 4

Definitely, anticipation is golden when it end with such a solid product.

Enjoy your machine mate!!!

 

I configured my M15x with a 256ssd because i wanted a quiet system, is the M15x silent when just surfing/office work etc? eta 30/3!

 

It's quiet for the most part when you aren't playing anything.

As long as you don't have it in an environment where it'll get hot it won't get loud.

Also, for all those with doubts... don't worry.

Remember, most people that tend to come to forums are those looking for help and the usuals. These Laptops are VERY well built and can dish out damn good FPS on every game i've thrown at it.

Hell even GTAIV (which is a TERRIBLY optimized port) can run on all settings on high with about 30-50 view distance and run at a decent 30 fps. I think that's saying a lot for a laptop's power.

 

wooo just got it.
gpu driver for 260m is 8.15.11.8647
not sure where to find the bios.

Should I keep that gpu driver or get a diff. one?

so far everything seems good. cpu score is 7, ram and HD is 5.9, gpu and graphics are 6.8. that seem about right?

played a little crysis warhead and gpu got up to about 60C and idle it's about 45C

 

sweet man, congrats. everything seems spot on. to find out which bios, you have to go into the bios at start up i think its f12 when booting up. and you can stop drooling now.lol

 

Howdy everyone wondering what BIOS everyone is using.. I never updated to A03 since it was bricking people's systems. Did they ever fix A03 because I only see A02 on Dell's driver page.

Thanks!

EDIT: I've also gotten a few PM's on how to run BC2 in d9 instead of dx10... Go into your My Documents Folder-> BFBC2 -> settings.ini

Open settings.ini with WordPad and then change DxVersion=auto to DxVersion=9, then you're all set to play single/multiplayer without your HUD costing you kills/deaths. Happy fragging!

 

there is a working a03, if you want it let me know. doesn't do anything special just a enter key remapped. wow thanks for bc2 info, made the game playable for me.

 

Congratulations mate! Enjoy it and don't start hunting for any issues, you'll just drive yourself nuts over nothing!

Have a blast my friend!

 

Can someone explain how bing cashback works? I can't find much info on it.

 

you sign up for a bing account. use the bing link for the site you want to buy at, then just buy whatever you want. then they will send you an email stating how much cash back you get. about 3 months later they will send you a check.

 

Ah, thanks. So it's a rebate system, not a coupon system.

 

Congratz!!! Enjoy your M15x mate... Its a processing monster...Ram's rating is pretty much like 7.4 rather than 5.9 but windows rating is not that reliable anyways...

 

I got my M15X Wednesday and I love it!!! I call customer service this morning because I could not get the alienfusion to work and I had a green spot on the lower right of the screen. Customer service rep was great she reloaded alien fx and set up a service call to replace my LCD. To bad dell sales rep are not as good. I am also getting about 3 and half hours on battery. Going to play with the setting to see if I can get more out of it.

 

Nice, 3.5 hours, Good old i5! Did you have the 240M also?

 

Yes the 240m and the 900dpi screen.

 

Does anyone elses power adapter get blazing hot? How do I keep that thing cool

 

Mine gets hot too when playing games for long periods of time. As far as I know, you can't do much to prevent it though, just part of the deal. Also remember, it's a 150watt power supply, far and away above what you see on most lesser laptops, but that's what you need to power these beasts.

Just keep it in an open area, not under a rug or something dumb.I have found though that once the gaming is over, they cool off surprisingly fast. As in, ~2 minutes or so.

 

I just got informed that my little beast will be delivered this Tuesday!

After years of holding back I'm finally getting my dream machine!

 

congrats on your little beast, you'll love it.

 

Thanks man! I'm sure I will. I just hope there are no major issues. I sit in front of a computer 12 hours a day, but I don't really know much about fixing issues.

Can't wait to start unpacking!

 

just notice you got the 240, why not go 260m?

 

http://walmart.ca/wpscontroller?com...tLoadOnlineFlexFlyer&storeId=3106&language=en


For any one in Canada: $128 Xbox 360 at Walmart
Page 11 of that in store flyer up there.

Just thought I'd let you guys know incase anyone needs/wants one.




Also, I've been playing torchlight and have everything on high, except antialiasing. Theres a checkbox for that... Should I check that or keep it unchecked? I want to get teh graphics to look the best they can to take advantage of this card.. does AA do that or does it dumb down the graphics?



Another question, in my bios it read this:
Bios A03
Ec version 1.00

CPU:i7
CPU Speed: 1.60Ghz
CPU Cache: 1024 KB
CPU ID: 000106ES


I thought the cache of the i7 was like 6MB?

 

thats L2 cache .. i.e. 1mb
L3 cache is 6 mb...

same here... 1mb cache in bios.. nothing to worry about... but ur windows rating of 5.9 for ram is bit odd..

 

wow check this out, another furom member found this:

http://www.bestbuybusiness.com/bbfb/en/US/adirect/bestbuy?cmd=catProductDetail&productID=BB11042563

great deal for a M15x

 

Hey echoblack thanks for the suggestions way back in Part 3 of this lounge about my SSD: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5927101#post5927101

Can confirm I've got VBM19D1Q and looking at http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/products/flash/ssd/2008/business/business.html it seems VBM19C1Q or VBM1901Q are the latest.

Here's my problem: having found some spare hours to devote to sorting this out, I'm stuck trying to actually change the firmware. I've tried creating a bootable USB using method 7 of this http://www.bootdisk.com/pendrive.htm and failed (M15x couldn't boot off the USB). I then thought I'd be real smart and chucked in a Windows 7 startup CD, booted from that, put in USB drive with http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/products/flash/ssd/2008/down/DSRD_2_1_0.zip unzipped on it, but unfortunately when I try to run the executable I'm told it's the wrong sort for this version of windows and maybe it's not 64 bit or something.

Help!

 

A couple of reasons I didn't go for the 260:
First of all, I don't play any games, so I didn't think it would make a big difference for me.
Second, the moment I ordered (from Dell Panama, the only way to get them to Venezuela), they didn't have 260 cards and didn't know when they would come in again (later on they also ran out of 240's, so that wouldn't have made a difference, but of course, I didn't know that at the time).
And last, there was a U$250 price difference between the two cards, and given the first reason.......

So if I don't play games, why did I get this machine?
Well, first of all because I instantly fell in love it (or rather, it's pictures) the moment I saw it! I have always dreamed of having an AW, and now I had the chance. I don't need mobility, as I use it for work and surfing the net, which both I do at home. Because of frequent blackouts I need something with a battery, even if it's just 2 hours (the average time of our blackouts), so that's why a desktop wouldn't do it for me. I might run into trouble with my deadlines if there are several blackouts within the allowed time for the project. Another reason is that this laptop with current technology will last me at least 3 years and will probably give me a big chunk of my money back when I sell it to buy myself a new one. As I work on it all day long (at least 10 hours per day, well, not just working of course), I preferred a 15 inch screen over a 17 inch screen, where Word, Excel and everything else just sits somewhere in the middle of the screen. For the same reason I chose the normal resolution instead of full HD.

 

I just checked what type of ram sticks I have.
2GB Elpida
1GB Samsung

I ran the windows test again 3 times, keep getting 5.9.

Any other way I can test to see if these sticks are up to par? I don't want to have a faulty stick or something. Both sticks are recognized and the bios says they are 1333. hmm

 

I'm no expert on the matter, but isn't it weird ti get 2 different brands of RAM sticks? (Especially directly from the manufacturer).

 

Thats the configuartion you get when you order 3GB. I had the same chips and the same score. I planned to upgrade to 8 GB anyway so it didnt bother me.

 

Don't count on this after 3 years. PC's depreciate at a rate faster than cars do.

 

I have 3gigs, and both sticks are Samsung sticks.

 

My EDD is 31/03 which is like 2 weeks away, I hope it doesn't get delayed

Anything thats recommended to install when I get my system?

Can't believe I'm getting an AW

 

You are right, of course, but I do live in a country where Alienware is still unavailable (you have to import it yourself) and second hand cars are almost as expensive as new ones. I know this guarantee anything, but there's still a good chance. I don't really mind if I can sell it for a good price or not, after all, I have 3 years to save up for my new dream machine!

 

Hi, just bought my new system online(sadly). I saw the all powerfull savings and i did not know i could have saved much more from phone.

First of all, a guy from dell called me three times(yeah i was in the shower and got 2 missed) and told me to verify the order, the verification was a success. I was shipping it to a university(I am living in a residence hall & yes im an international student) and he suddenly asks my university e-mail. Im not sure what this is for.
(I am getting false hopes that ill get some sort of student discount)

Second of all, I purchased my system online and I want to know if I got a bad deal because I did not purchase it by phone.

my system is shown as below in my signature but with
-home premium
-dual dvdRW (default)
-9 cell

the subtotal was $3368 (this was because i got the all powerful saving thing and got $200 off)
Oh yeah i got this $50 off coupon too in the list but not sure what it can do as of now.

Finally, do you guys know of any protector that I can use for the m15x. Eg: screen protector, sleeve(I dont even know if it exist), case, Invisible shield(they only have the area51 for some reason)

Please guide me, thx in advanced

 

Maybe its location dependant? I live in Europe and got two different brands

 

Same here in canada. I imagine the Dell manufacturer having a big basket of Ram sticks, and them randomly sticking their hands in it and pulling out ram sticks, not giving a damn about keeping the same brands lol... and if you end up with 2 of the same, your lucky. just my take

 

the pricing seems about right, as you pretty much have the specs maxed there buddy

As for screen protectors just go on ebay, there's tons of sellers who make custom size one's where you just give them the dimensions, and they make one for you Haven't tried any sleeves yet though.

EDIT: just noticed you were probably wondering ON THE DELL SITE to use your coupons... >> my bad .. and umm.. not that i know of? But the screen protectors on ebay go for roughly 20bux...

 

I'm in the UK and got 4GB (2x2GB) 1333.. The ram is:
Elpida EBJ21UE8BDS0-DJ-F

 

I'm in the US and got the same thing. i guess its all random.

also if some of you guys reformatted and lost the alienware login screen let me know just found a easy fix for it.

 

Can I have it ..please!!!

 

here the link for the little download and steps to do it:

http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-change-windows-7-logon-screen-easily-without-using-hacks-tools/

and here is a link for the wallpaper and avatars:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/pxbxzi

 

Hi,
I am unable to get 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound through my Display port to my onkyo sr606 receiver. MOvies that have surround sound tracks are working perfectly.But games with the surround sound tracks does not(Like Burnout paradise,NFS SHift). In games Only the left and right speakers work.
Also when ever I play dolby true HD or DTS HD sources, There is no audio. Can some one tell me how I can decode them and them pass it through the HDMI?

 

i just got my M15x and im rather happy with it except for a sound prob its crackling and cutting in out and i have to have my volume on full on the main volume bar and the media player bar when i listen to music i have tested my headphones in my XPS and they are fine if i had that on full id be deaf in 1 minute has anyone else had the same problem i am getting the sound card replaced in 2 days but i want to know if thats just what the m15x is like ? i think i fixed the crackling and cutting out with driver update but the volume is still really low on full with headphones in thanks for anyones help

 

which driver did you update.. what ver.. try uninstalling the idt driver and let windows install the default one...

 

Anyone know if you can use the "all powerful savings" plus the epp discount?

 

not sure the dell tech did it for me i really dont have much of a clue when it comes to computers.

 

If I understand this correctly... Sure!

 

I almost got another 10% off the all powerful savings, it was about 8-9%. I don't know if it was my haggling or the epp but it's possible!

 

Will anti aliasing make my graphics look better or should I keep it off?

 

it depend on the game and screen res, it make the graphic looks smoother. you should have this on in most game.